Leadership vs. Power

Are you driven by goals or by power over others?

King George III asked Benjamin West, his American painter, what George Washington would do if he prevailed in the Revolutionary War. West replied, “He will return to his farm.” The British monarch incredulously said, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” On December 23, 1783 Washington did just that and retired to Mount Vernon – despite the encouragement of many to stay in power. Despite the willingness of Americans to crown him king. Thirteen years later, he would do it once again.

In 1787, Washington was coaxed back to Philadelphia to attend the Constitutional Convention. While there he provided the leadership necessary to get the fractious delegates to settle down and complete the work of designing a new constitution. Afterwards, in 1789, he was elected the first President of the United States. He reluctantly ran for a second term in 1792. He refused to run for a third term, setting a precedent that lasted 150 years, and retired once again to his farm.

Abraham Lincoln said, “If you want to test a man’s character – give him power.” George Washington passed that test. Twice in his life he walked away from power and proved that he was indeed the greatest man in the world. He demonstrated that leadership is something that you give – not take – and that power should be used responsibly.

Washington died in 1799, the year that Napoleon Bonaparte became the ruler of France. In contrast to Washington, Napoleon could not acquire enough power. His legendary lust for command drove him to take over much of Europe. “Power is my mistress,” he once claimed, “I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me.”

Years later, having lost all power and living in exile, he lamented "They wanted me to be another Washington."

History is rife with stories of people who abused their power. Abuse of power, however, is not just reserved for politicians and tyrants. It can be abused by managers, spouses, parents, peers and the list goes on. It is the lure of dominance over others, when it motivates people toward leadership roles, that is revealing. It reveals uncertainty, lack of confidence and fear.

It is said that power corrupts, but more often than not, it is a corrupted individual who is attracted to power. It is a feeling of inferiority, sometimes called a Napoleon Complex, that drives someone to control other people and to micro-manage their surroundings. Today we call such a person a Control Freak. Science fiction author, Robert Heinlein noted, “Anyone who wants to be a politician shouldn’t be allowed to be one.” (See my article: Fear vs. Power)

When we look at Abraham Maslow’s heirarchy of Human Motivation (Survival, Safety, Social, Esteem, Fulfilment), we see that someone who hungers for power is stuck in the second to bottom level which is Safety. A true leader has self-esteem and self-confidence and does not seek power to bolster his or her feeling of self worth. Thomas Jefferson observed that, “An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens.”

A true leader is motivated by a goal. A goal common to his group whether that group is a company or a country. If you find yourself attracted to leadership, stop and check your motivation. Are you driven to share your gift of understanding in the endeavor of achieving a goal, or are you motivated by perquisites of position and the power you have over others? As John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is an author, humorist, and innovation consultant. He works with companies that want to be more competitive and with people who want to think like innovators. Robert is also the author of the humorous children’s book: The Annoying Ghost Kid. Contact Robert at www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com

I have a question that I'm sure you dont have an answer too, but here goes: If people who are attracted to power are generally those who shouldn't have- how do we attract people who aren't aTtracted to power to take positions of leadership? Specifically in national politics. I agree with you that people that are climbing that ladder aren't people that we would like to. it jst seems like a Catch22--

Adam, I think the answer is to remove the perks of power. Of course no one in office is going to give up what they already have. Perhaps a new group coming in might do that. I recall that when the Republicans swept Congress in 1994 many of them voluntarily term-limited themselves, but I don't think all of those who did stuck to their promise. It would be nice to see a new group of politicians make the office less attractive to career politicians - the ones most obviously in it for the power. Then with less career politicians, others might see it as an honor to serve. Did you know that around 100 years ago Congress limited the number of members Congress could have. Congress was supposed to increase in size every ten years to reflect the census. Today there should be more than 4000 representatives to Congress. With that many, few congress members could acquire and wield great power - unless they were true leaders who were all about giving and not taking!

Excellent and perceptive article Robert. It's truly amazing how much more effectively we can lead if we let go of the illusion of power. I've consistently noticed that self-aware and healthy leaders are able to help others grow and thrive instead of constantly yearning for the limelight.

Paradoxically, the less we hunger for power the better leaders we become. Letting go of the need to dominate helps us focus on things like collaboration and building others up. It also gives us a wonderful opportunity to breathe, enjoy working with people and learn about their gifts.

In Open source we always talk about project administrators as leaders. However nobody has never talk about motivations and powers. I am now wondering that is the relation between leadership and power in this context

Nice article...Leadership is about power and other factors, some of which are outlined below.

Leadership is the art of mobilizing others toward shared aspirations. In a business enterprise, leaders must take care of employees who, in turn, are responsible for taking care of customers, stakeholders, and related outside parties, such as the government and the community, in an ethical manner. This approach also considers implications for the environment and results in proﬁtable growth combined with an increase in the welfare of all parties involved.

Great leaders are visionaries whose intuition helps them to recognize and capitalize on business opportunities in a timely manner. Their success is based on surrounding themselves with “like-minded” professionals who complement them to help reinforce their strengths and eliminate their weaknesses. They build teams consisting of individuals who complement one another in a way that ensures consistent performance in line with corporate goals. The mantra embodied herein is “Build grand castles in the air while ensuring that they rest on solid foundations.” This is in direct contrast to mediocre leaders who surround themselves with yes-people who, by their very nature, are unable to contribute positively to the bottom line!

The wisdom of effective leaders enables them to appreciate the views of their inner circle and others. In situations where consensus cannot be reached, they have an uncanny ability to cut to the chase and make informed decisions. They foster an environment that encourages the sharing of ideas through brainstorming while realizing that innovation need not be preceded by the existence of committees.

True leaders place a great deal of emphasis on culture and shared values. They realize that business involves human beings and that proﬁtable growth results from fruitful relationships. They normally possess both formal and informal power. Formal power is entrusted to them by virtue of their position in the company. Informal power results from their core belief system. They lead by example, thus earning the respect and admiration of their peers and subordinates. As a result, employees are enthusiastic about going beyond the call of duty for “their” leaders.

Great leaders build organizations that are vibrant and performance driven. They structure employee compensation packages in a way that promotes and reinforces the right behaviors and rewards people on the basis of individual as well as team performance. They believe that a base salary pays the bills, whereas variable compensation, including earnings before interest, taxes, dividends and amortization (EBITDA)-based bonuses, motivates employees to challenge themselves and increase their contribution to the ﬁrm on a consistent basis. These leaders ﬁnd reasons to pay bonuses as opposed to those leaders who ﬁnd reasons to deprive employees of bonuses they truly deserve!

Leadership traits can create a virtuous cycle for the ﬁrm’s management, employees, clients, stakeholders, and others. Great leaders have a natural ﬂair. There are those who believe that their effectiveness can be increased through education, other methods of training and development, and experience, though to a limited extent.

I have a policy of distributing free abridged versions of my books on leadership, ethics, teamwork, motivation, women, bullying and sexual harassment, trade unions, etc., to anyone who sends a request to crespin79@hotmail.com.

When you lead you exercise power. We cannot separate leadership from power. And there are those that separate good leadership from bad leadership. What defines a good leader from a bad one is usually dependent on current societal conditioning. Very rarely do we ask the question whether a leader is required at all... whether a follower is required at all. Why does one feel the need to direct others or follow others? It is the ideal is it not? So based on an ideal we initiate action to influence others or follow others. What is an ideal? It is a personal idea of perfection that can be spread among others to form a group. Yet when one ideal differs from another it produces conflict and division. Obviously an ideal is not a fact. Belief fuels the ideal. So we observe present society where nothing has really changed psychologically... obviously in relation to technology yes but not in relation to the inner realms of the mind. Conflict, disorder, war, division all still exist. Leadership has done nothing to counter this. Whether one holds onto power or takes it upon him or herself occasionally makes no difference. Hierarchy and specialization have become only more prevalent, more complicated, more divisive. Yet, unity is very simple. The more is the problem. If we could approach each other very simply as friends without the ideal, without comparison, without the status, to share knowledge equally without profit. Then real peace and unity may actually flourish. Some will say human nature is dependent on conditioning. And in the conclusion there is limitation.